A board member for the DVD CCA said the group is pursuing AMX (Richardson, Texas) about a media server said to violate the license provisions of the consortium's Copy Scramble System (CSS). A representative of DVD CCA is said to have contacted AMX about the violation that allows the system to make copies of DVDs.

The news emerged in testimony Thursday (March 22) in a non-jury trial where the DVD CCA is suing Kaleidescape, claiming its media server violates two core provisions of the CSS license. Under cross examination Kaleidescape attorney Thomas Moore asked a DVD CCA board member whether the group of computer, consumer and content companies planned to pursue other companies such as AMX as vigorously as they are pursuing Kaleidescape.

"You can debate how you define vigorously, but what I would consider to be appropriate action [against AMX] is underway and might become public," said Alfred Perry, vice president of business and legal affairs for Paramount Pictures and a board member of the DVD CCA since July 2004.

The group is said to have threatened to sue at least one other small media server maker for violations of CSS, forcing it out of business.

Separately, Perry and a DVD CCA board member from Fox also revealed under testimony that the group has twice since 2005 brought to a vote a broad set of amendments to its copy-control spec that would let end users make managed copies of DVDs. The group is not discussing details of the amendment or whether it may come up for a vote again.

"The economics of the managed copy model are still being greatly debated, but the concept of the comprehensive amendment goes beyond the managed copy concept," said Perry.

Under the managed copy proposal, authorized copies would be imprinted with a watermark so systems could identify and control playback of authorized copies as well as prevent copying or playback of rented disks.

"It is an opportunity to enhance security," said Perry. "It would enable new functions to bring new life and vitality into the DVD format and strengthen DVD as we know it. And there are other enhancements," he said.

Lawyers for the DVD CCA at first balked at the notion of discussing the managed copy proposals in open court. However Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Leslie C. Nichols got both sides to agree to testify about the proposals as long as they did not discuss them in detail.

"These are extremely sensitive and confidential proposals," said a DVD CCA attorney.